


A Little Bit of Space

by randompasserbyer



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Birdtale (Undertale), Birdtale Sans (Undertale), Gen, Kidnapping, Nobody is Dead, Science Experiments, Self-Sacrifice, shit goes downhill fast, there's a little bit of peace at the beginning
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-02
Updated: 2020-06-02
Packaged: 2021-03-03 18:40:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24510217
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/randompasserbyer/pseuds/randompasserbyer
Summary: It was only supposed to be a short break. He was only supposed to be away from the flock for a little while. All he wanted was a little bit of space.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 16
Collections: Skeletons in the Closets





	A Little Bit of Space

On the top of a pine tree was one of the few places Sans could find true peace. The surface wasn’t perfect, but it did offer open skies and a gentle breeze. He spread his wings as the tip of the tree bent and swayed, keeping his balance. The wind blew through his black crow feathers and cooled them off. He closed his eye sockets and relaxed with a quiet sigh, soaking in the warm sunlight. Yes, the surface certainly was better than the cramped darkness of the Underground. He was glad to be able to enjoy it while it lasted. Who knows when the next RESET would be…

Up here, that didn’t matter. Up here, nobody could reach him. No humans, few animals, just him and the sky and the sound of the wind whispering through the needles. Sans wasn’t worried about anyone finding him, and he had needed some alone time. Being so social with the other monsters was exhausting. He was content on his own. If it could be just him and his bro, he’d be set for life, but he knows his brother values the time spent with the flock. His brother means the world to him, and nothing makes him happier than seeing him happy. Man, Papyrus was the coolest.

Speaking of, he was probably worried half to death wondering where Sans had gone off to. It’s not like the short skeleton had told anyone where he was going when he left. Too much had been happening with political peace meetings with the humans. Humans weren’t really his thing, not after fighting a particular one for so long, so Sans had teleported out and flown off. He should think about heading back soon.

Stretching out his wings and lowering his flight goggles, the skeleton monster let himself drop from the pine branches and soar above the other treetops, flapping when it was needed but trying to put minimal effort into it. It wasn’t a terribly long flight back to the temporary nesting site everyone was using, but he hadn’t been thinking about making the trip twice when he flew out in the first place. He yawned and shook himself away as his sockets drooped shut for a brief moment. Perhaps he should find a nice tree to take a quick nap in…

He had time before the sun set to catch some quick z’s. There was a nice oak tree with large, windy branches that would make for a great roosting spot. With a casual tilt of his tail feathers, he redirected his flight towards the great oak and swooped in for a messy landing near the bottom branches. Leaves and twigs fell to the ground below him as his wings broke them off before he could tuck them in against his back. The bark under his talons was rough, but his slippers cushioned the blow so he didn’t shred his bones on it. Sans lifted his goggles up and reclined against the trunk of the tree with a brief yawn, getting comfortable in the afternoon light and the fluff of his hoodie.

Just a few minutes of napping… He’ll wake up in a few and be back on his way before long… His sockets drifted shut and he was cast into a dreamless sleep.

Something didn’t feel right. There was a charged feeling to the air as Sans slowly woke from his nap, feathers fluffing up. It was quiet. Too quiet. There was no sound of crickets chirping or cicadas singing. A predator? Was there a predator in the area?

There was a small scraping sound and the skeleton instinctively dodged out of the way as a pointed rock struck the trunk next to him and clattered to the ground. A human voice muttered, “Shoot, I missed.”

Adrenaline and magic pumped through Sans as he sat up and spread his wings threateningly down at the human. His bones rattled lightly and he hissed at them, mind still groggy from being forced out of his nap so harshly. The human chucked another rock at him and shouted, “Get out of here, monster! We don’t want your kind here! Filthy bird!”

Sans huffed and took off into the woods, blinking hard to clear the leftover clouds of grogginess from his mind. Stupid humans… He never liked them. They lived in packs and always meant trouble. Where there was one, there were more nearby. The only one he ever trusted was Frisk, and even that proved dangerous. Whatever. He’ll be back with the flock soon. The monster narrowly dodged branches as he weaved through the trees, wings knocking dead leaves to the ground, branches swaying in his wake. 

The first sign that anyone was pursuing him was the rev of a motorcycle engine. The sound almost startled Sans out of the air, but he stayed strong and carried on. He didn’t remember it being that far to the flock, what was taking this flight so long? If he could just make it there, he’d be safe. Air. He needed more air, more space. When he passed the next branch, he tucked his wings in and braced himself for a jump.

Just as his taloned foot left the branch, a shot rang through the air. What he could only assume was a bullet whizzed past him and into the canopy as he teleported through the leaves. He paused in the air, flapping hard to stay afloat, soul racing. These humans were armed. It wasn’t just some guy trying to chase him off his property. These were men with guns and ammo. His 1HP was starting to weigh heavily on him as he took off again towards the setting sun. Continued motorcycle noises let him know they were still hot on his tail feathers.

Thirty minutes later, Sans realized what was happening. They weren’t gone, and they hadn’t fired at him again. They must have realized something, the same thing Sans himself was realizing now. He was leading them right to the flock. His soul nearly shattered, his wings faltering. He can’t do that. He can’t let everyone pay for his mistake. He can’t let them get Papyrus…

He was beginning to tire anyways. He changed his flaps to a glide and began to coast down into the trees again. The motorcycles weren’t far behind him, but if he was going down, he wasn’t going down alone. He’d seen what a human child could do to the entire Underground. He wasn’t going to spoil their happy ending by leading a pack of human adults to them. His feet touched the ground and he drops into a casual stance, turning to meet the humans with a strained grin. As they pulled up, a few of them flung strange string-and-ball devices at him, not unsimilar to the ones Undyne would use on a drunk flier to bring them out of the air. He dodged them, ducking and weaving, then launched his own attack.

Two gaster blasters spawned in the narrow space in the forest and fired at the humans’ SOULs, green, blue, and red. The owner of the red SOUL dodged his attack effortlessly and hopped off their bike, the magic passing through the object without destroying it. The human ran up to the skeleton monster and Sans was suddenly hit with the striking similarities between this forest and the Judgement Hall. His eyelight flared blue and yellow in panic as he found himself back there, facing down the human child, the demon spawn.

The DETERMINATION SOUL turned blue and he threw them into the ground, gritting his teeth. A bone attack impaled them from the ground before they had a chance to get up, disappearing upon impact with their SOUL and dropping their HP. He summoned four more blasters to finish them off with, but something collided with his body and wrapped around him, pinning his wings to his back and his arms to his side. He fell under the unexpected force, grimacing at the pain and quickly checking his HP. It hadn’t been hurt. They hadn’t struck with ill intent.

His magic blinked out and confusion clouded his mind. What happened to his magic? Why couldn’t he summon anything? His magic was dampened. How did the human dampen his magic? Judgement Hall suddenly faded and he realized what had happened. He wasn’t back there. He was in a forest on the Surface with human hunters. The rope-ball device they used to restrict his movements must have magic-dampening properties. His soul thumped in terror, sockets wide, eyelights mere pinpricks.

The human with the Patience SOUL stepped toward him and crouched down to get a good look at him. He hissed and rattled his bones at her in response, trying to summon magic to his eyelights for a more intimidating effect. It was no use. The display did nothing to sway the human as she observed him. Behind her, the Kindness SOUL knelt next to her fallen comrade and placed a hand on his shoulder. He heard her soft voice ask, “Are you alright? What was that?”

He groaned and rolled over, a grimace clearly on his face. The Determination SOUL rubbed his chest and nodded. “I’m fine. That hurt like a mother trucker…” He seemed mildly surprised that there was no blood. Green helped Red to his feet and made sure he was okay to stand. He then shifted his focus to Sans, who now had his feet tied together and his hands tied behind his wings. “Hey, skeleton prick. Try using magic again, see where that gets you. We’ve got a job to do and I’d prefer it if none of us died in the process.”

Sans looked away, his face settling into a defiant smile. Whatever happened to him now was already history in his mind. The flock was safe, and that was what mattered. His sockets closed and he sighed, his smile relaxing. The flock was safe… 

Blue hummed in thought and looked him over. “I guess they really do just have the same mentality as birds. It settled down immediately after its wings were restricted. I thought they at least knew… you know… words, y’know? Can it even understand us?”

The skeleton stayed silent. He wouldn’t give them the satisfaction of knowing. Instead, he focused on the other sensations; the leaves rustling in the trees, the slight breeze blowing over his bones and feathers, the cool undergrowth beneath his body. This might’ve been the last time he got to feel them. The chatter of the humans faded into the background as he waited for the end and dozed off into a catnap.

He was jolted out of his sleep when one of the humans picked his net up, dragging him behind them. Sans opened his eyes, not paying attention to any of the conversation going on. The night sky’s stars twinkled down at him through the canopy and his permagrin wavered. His breathing quickened as what he was doing hit him. He flailed in his bindings, wings flapping, arms thrashing. The humans shouted in surprise and one of them jumped onto him, pressing him into the dirt and folding his feathers with their weight. He squawks, wings struggling to fight back, but without his magic, the humans overpowered him.

“You got him?”

“Careful with his feathers! Those are valuable!”

“I know! Calm down! This thing is slippery!”

“Slippery? What, is he made of oil?”

Sans panted hard again, out of breath and energy, and let himself go limp once more. Tears formed at the edges of his sockets and he let out a sad trill. One of the humans said something about sedatives and panic thrummed through his soul. He looked up at the sky one last time, memorizing how the stars looked framed by the leaves of the trees, then closed his eyes, magic tears dripping down his skull.

There was a slight pain in his wing as they inserted sedative into him and the darkness pulled him into the sweet bliss of unconsciousness.


End file.
